Iljin Electric saves development time and costs with Solid Edge

Total solutions for power transmission and distribution

Established in 1968, Iljin Electric has served various fields of industry. Beginning as a supplier of non-ferrous metals, the company expanded into the production of power transmission and distribution equipment, including transformers, gas- insulated switchgear, extra-high-voltage cables, and copper wire and electrical components.

Iljin Electric has a history of developing most of its new products using self-developed technologies. The company has also accelerated development of smart electrical grids and eco-friendly power equipment, which are drivers of future growth.

Iljin Electric’s employees are fueled by the belief that electrical energy is a driving force of economic progress and an essential commodity for daily life. Stable power supply networks are in an explosive demand in the emerging markets as the demand for power has recently soared around the world. As South Korea’s only dedicated heavy electrical equipment manufacturer, Iljin Electric provides total electrical grid solutions and is recognized internationally for its technology.

Currently, Iljin Electric is concentrating on increasing the export portion of its sales by providing turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions for power generation, transmission and distribution. Since entering the export market in early 2000 (mainly in Western Europe and North America), Iljin Electric has been aggressively building networks overseas, capitalizing on the rapidly growing demand for electricity in emerging markets. As a result, the company has successfully advanced into more than 80 countries around the world.

Limitations of 2D design

In the past, Iljin Electric was experiencing difficulties using a 2D design system that did not adequately support collaboration between design and production processes. The company needed a system that could efficiently deliver electrical design data to its structural design team.

Accomplishing these goals was difficult in the 2D design environment. Moreover, many revisions were made in 2D, which caused delays in the release of drawings required for mass production and ultimately hindered the delivery schedule. At construction sites, workers had to print out poor-quality 2D drawings with low legibility. The low-quality drawings frequently had to be reconverted and reissued, compromising efficiency. If design changes were made on site, they were not reflected in the actual design data.

Parts lists and bills of material (BOMs) were delivered to the production team separately from the drawings, in the form of spreadsheet files. The data was entered into the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system separately, which involved a lot of duplication of work. Employees didn’t understand the system very well. In addition, there was no dedicated department or staff for problem-solving and systematic management.

Moving to 3D

To resolve the problems with 2D-based design, Iljin Electric first adopted computer-aided design (CAD) software, but the company was not able to use the tool efficiently or link it to other systems. Most of all, it did not have the technology to convert legacy 2D design data to 3D.

Iljin Electric turned to Siemens Digital Industries Software to analyze the company’s data and processes, and also deployed Solid Edge® software to its production sites. For global market competitiveness, the company wanted to improve the quality of transformer designs and the visibility of the data. To accomplish this, Iljin Electric created created a process that enables design collaboration through Solid Edge and established a library of data for design standardization and consistency.

Siemens Digital Industries Software also created custom automation programs for Iljin Electric using the Solid Edge application programming interface (API). The custom programs use electrical calculation formulas and variables to automatically create 3D models and drawings of structures. In addition, standardized templates for 3D designs and 2D drawings achieve design modularization that accelerates the process.

Support and training

Siemens Digital Industries Software offered training customized for 2D designers, and helped enhance the capabilities of the designers by conducting step-by-step testing to check their improvement. Siemens also provided on- and offline support to respond to the real-time voice of the customer (VOC). Through remote systems, Siemens Digital Industries Software personnel accessed the users’ computers to solve problems online, and frequently made visits for on-site support.

Improving productivity and efficiency using Solid Edge

With the introduction of Solid Edge, Iljin Electric established a basis for design and production of standardized equipment. In the past, if the designs were changed, the modifications often caused problems in the individual modules of power transmission and distribution systems. Using Solid Edge with standardized designs, products can be released with high precision even when modifications are made. With design templates, any design engineer using Solid Edge can produce models and drawings for mass production.

The company also built a variables library for 3D design that enables streamlined design and production. The pace of design has doubled compared to the 2D-based process, and accuracy of design production has also increased.

Iljin Electric values the specialized large assembly design tools of Solid Edge, which can easily accommodate massive projects, and deliver direct clearance and interference analysis that helps detect and correct errors. With complete 3D models of fullsized products, engineers can easily identify problems before production. “Solid Edge provides intuitive interference checking that has helped to solve problems that were difficult with 2D,” says SeungGyun Hong, manager of the transformer division at Iljin Electric.

With the 3D models created using Solid Edge, the entire production process can be readily visualized and understood, resulting in synergies that improve product quality. Iljin Electric also improved the readability of 2D drawings by including 3D isometric views that support faster comprehension. Iljin Electric also used Solid Edge to create manufacturing bills of material (MBOMs) that improve transformer production efficiency and accuracy. “We have reduced production errors on site to less than five percent,” Hong says.

With the intuitive user interface of Solid Edge, Iljin Electric’s engineers quickly became proficient in the use of the software. Solid Edge also supports multiple CAD and neutral data interchange file formats that enhance compatibility with other systems. Iljin Electric’s engineers also use Solid Edge XpresRoute tools to design piping systems within 3D models of transformers.

Iljin Electric’s design labor costs have been reduced by more than 20 percent and work efficiency has improved significantly. “With Solid Edge, we have increased work efficiency by more than 30 percent compared to traditional design systems,” says Hong.

Looking to the future

At present, Iljin Electric is updating the library with high-capacity transformer designs, and using Solid Edge to extend the range of the company’s transformer product line, making extensive use of the automated application of electrical calculation formulas. In addition, the company is in the process of developing 3D model data to establish a cost estimation system. It is also considering introduction of Teamcenter® software for data management in the circuit breaker and wire divisions.